Facebook told to stop collecting German WhatsApp data

Facebook told to stop collecting German WhatsApp data

Social Zohaib   02:37:00

Image copyrightPA

Facebook has been ordered by a German privacy regulator to stop collecting and storing the data of German users of its messaging app WhatsApp.

The Hamburg Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information said that the social network had not obtained effective approval from WhatsApp's 35 million German users.

Facebook bought WhatsApp for $19bn (£14.6bn) in 2014 as a way to reach out to a younger audience.

It is to appeal against the order.

"We will work with the Hamburg DPA in an effort to address their questions and resolve any concerns," it said in a statement.

The data watchdog said that Facebook and WhatsApp were independent companies and should process their users' data as such.

"After the acquisition of WhatsApp by Facebook two years ago, both parties have publicly assured [users] that data will not be shared between them," said commissioner Johannes Caspar in a statement.

WhatsApp caused controversy in August when it announced that it was changing its privacy policy to allow its data to be shared with its parent company.

It said that better co-ordination with Facebook would help it to fight spam as well as allowing Facebook to offer "better friends suggestions and show you more relevant ads if you have an account with them".

It will share phone numbers and the details of the last time that users signed on to WhatsApp.

EU and US regulators reacted with caution, saying that the update needed to be investigated. The UK's Information Commissioner is also looking into the changes.

source : BBC

WE TESTED THE IPHONE 7’S THREE MOST NOTABLE FEATURES

WE TESTED THE IPHONE 7’S THREE MOST NOTABLE FEATURES

TECHNOLOGY Unknown   18:17:00

For every iPhone release, Apple goes out of its way to remind customers that this is the best one yet. The company is liberal with its use of superlatives to describe new products. In the case of the iPhone 7, it's the fastest, beefiest and best overall phone the company has produced. And this year, however, the Cupertino company adds a few more accolades to its list of superlatives--most camera-ed, waterproof-iest (our words, not Apple's). But despite adding IP67 water resistance and offering two cameras on the back (7 Plus only), Apple has also made the new iPhone 7 with a glaring weakness: It's the first iPhone to ship without a built-in 3.5mm headphone jack. How can Apple claim this is the best iPhone when, in that respect, even the iPhone 1 has it beat? By making sure those first two new features are stellar.

Nespresso Pixie Espresso Maker

Nespresso Pixie Espresso Maker

Windows7 Tips Unknown   23:40:00

Making an espresso using a standard, cheap espresso maker gives you an unlikely chance of actually getting a great cup of espresso. But Nespresso has fixed that problem with theNespresso Pixie Espress Maker. It basically works like a Keurig does for coffee, but instead of coffee it takes espresso pods. The Nespresso Pixie Espresso Maker will deliver an espresso to you using one of the capsules (think K-Cups) with a flawless espresso every time. So if you’re done trying to make your own espressos with some crappy espresso maker, pick up a Nespresso Pixie Espresso Maker.

Price: $183.24 (20 percent off MSRP)

Source: Amazing Gadgets

Yahoo expected to confirm data breach affecting 200 million users: Report

Yahoo expected to confirm data breach affecting 200 million users: Report

Social Siddiqui   22:31:00

Yahoo to go public about massive data breach affecting its 200 million users

Yahoo! Inc., is expected to officially acknowledge the massive data breach that took place last month with more than 200 million of users account exposed to hackers, Recode reports. While there is no confirmed information about the extent of the breach yet, the sources say that it is “widespread and serious” with the possibility of legal action and investigations led by the government.

Back in August, it was reported by Motherboard that a hacker going by the name of ‘Peace’ claimed to have breached Yahoo and put the usernames and passwords for over 200 million accounts up for sale. The same hacker has previously sold large data dumps of breaches related to Myspace and LinkedIn on a dark web marketplace called the Real Deal. The data dump allegedly included usernames, encrypted passwords, birthdays and other email addresses from 2012.

“It’s as bad as that,” one source told Recode. “Worse, really.”

The data was being sold for 3 bitcoins, worth $1,860 at the time. The company never issued password resets, a usual course of action taken by websites that would indicate of a hack. At the time, the company’s response to the hack was only that it was “aware of [the]claim” but did not confirm or deny that Yahoo users were affected.

The company said in a statement at the time, “We are committed to protecting the security of our users’ information and we take any such claim very seriously. Our security team is working to determine the facts.”

This news comes at a time when Yahoo is the middle of a mega-acquisition by Verizon in a $4.8 billion deal, which is yet to be approved by regulators and shareholders. So, it would be interesting to see if the deal would face repercussions due to the breach.

Yahoo is rumoured to make its announcement this week. If Yahoo confirms the news, this would become the biggest hack of its kind in the Yahoo history. If you own a Yahoo account, it would be ideal to change your password as soon as possible. Also, if you’re using the same Yahoo username and password combination elsewhere, it is recommended to change those as well.

Source : Techworm